Above my paygrade – part one

It’s above my pay-grade really, this watch, but without me it’s dead. I know its history, and that doesn’t help. Purchased as a twenty first gift by a doting aunt in 1958, it’s seen a man through all the milestones of a long life. But you know how it goes with these old mechanical timepieces? You leave them be if they’re running okay – and it’s been running okay for sixty years – and then they stop.

It could be nothing. A bit of dirt on the escapement. If so, cleaning and oiling will sort it out. The problem is I’m just a tinkerer, some professional skill with machines, but not at this scale. I’ve done watches before, yes, made a hobby of it, so I’m not exactly clueless, but they’re mostly worthless pieces I’ve worked on. The case of this piece is gold, so I’m not expecting a cheap movement inside of it, and I’m right. Hiding, all shy under the balance wheel, the Loupe reveals the distinctive mark of a Swiss ETA.

There are still watchmakers around of course, but they’d want a hundred quid before they’d look at it, those who would even deign to touch it in the first place. I mean an Accurist is a dcent watch, but isn’t exactly an Omega is it?

So the guy was disappointed, hesitated to part with that much money, even though he still clearly valued the watch, would sooner I chanced it, he said, and no blame if I killed it. I mean, after all,… it’s dead already isn’t it?

I enjoy stripping and cleaning old watches, especially the fine oiling and the regulating. It’s a meditation of sorts – the tools, the focus, the dexterity, like Tai Chi in miniature. I’ve years of political stuff to get out my system now after a stunning defeat in the elections, one I don’t see ever being turned around in my lifetime, so I’m turning back to my hobbies for deliverance.

I’ve deleted the news apps from my phone, no longer listen to the BBC. I’ll read a book at lunchtimes at work instead of poring over current affairs online like usual. The new PM can declare nuclear war, the Labour party can appoint whatever bland centerist they like as a leader and I wouldn’t know or care. It’s an over-reaction to a profound disappointment of course, and I’ll get over it, but old watches like this fascinate me, they have character, and history, and this one is easing me back onto my feet.

Except,… I wish it didn’t have to be this particular one because it’s a fine piece and I’m feeling sullied at the moment, lacking confidence. It needs someone more competent.

But what the hell, here goes,…